Remember how I rebelled blogging for a couple of weeks? Well during that time I won a couple of photography contests. It was for the Photographics Society at BYUI. Before you go thinking I'm ready to take on Ansel Adams- there weren't that many entries (probably around 20 for each category, edited and unedited). Shocking, I know. They have a contest where everyone in the Society votes on their favorite, and then a second contest where real photographers in the community (I think) judge. So you have the opportunity of winning multiple times for the same photos. That's what happened to me. I won 2nd place for Society choice (the vase pic). The best was that there was a three way tie for 2nd place for the judges competition and two of my photos won for 2nd place. I told them I had never been in contest with myself. I'll have to try it more often. Here are the two photos that got me $30 each, and the vase got me an additional $10-so $70 all together. I know I've already posted them, but just in case you forgot:
The park bench was entered in the non-edited category and didn't win anything, but hey I love it like the rest of my photo children. Let's be honest, it didn't bring in bacon, so actually it's towards the bottom of the totem pole. And if you couldn't guess, the contest was "nights and lights" hence the million night/light pics I've been posting. I guess it paid off. Literally.
You might want to know what I did with that money. Well that, combined with the fact that my birthday was around the same time, I bought Dreamweaver- Adobe's software for making websites. It's pretty cool and I'm glad I have it. I'll be a web desiging pro in no time. And no time=who knows how long. But I'm off to a good start.
I've been rebelling the whole blog thing- I need to rebel in some aspects of my life or I don't think I'd feel human. And we know we're here to have a human experience. But to what you really wanted to hear about- my adventures in Jellystone National Park. Did you know that it actually used to be called Jellystone until 1992 when they found out people had a negative connotation of the word "jelly" so they changed it to Yellowstone? True story.(On a side note, is there a certain quota of lies you can tell until you're really thrust down to hell? Nothing relating with the above fact). We were pretty darn close to these female moosen. When I changed lenses I did something funky to my camera (sorry, my father's camera) so the first couple of pics turned out weird but then we fixed it. One of them was going to let me ride on its back, but it didn't want to offend the other tourists. Right after we got in the car and I was slowly pulling out into the street and stopped because there was this old couple walking in front of us. They gave me the dirtiest looks and were saying something with their mouths, I think it was "Why, what a nice car full of youngsters. Too bad our grandchildren aren't nearly as good looking". To say the least I tried to hit at least one old couple at every place we went.
This is called "Medusa Geyser" as seen by the violent eruption of redhair.
How could we not go see Old Faithful? Or the man in the blue shirt.
Yes, this is a bird. No, it is not talking to Madison. Yes, I did capture him/her in its nest.
This is one of the prettiest/most photographed hot pools in Yellowstone. It's called Morning Glory. I don't know why it's one of the most photographed- I'm not there to enhance its beauty.
My two favorite named geysers. I think they named them after me. Touching.
Well, we all know I need help. But specifically, with my brand spanking new website. I'm pretty proud of it. Even though it's not finished, this little bun is baking quite well in the oven. And no, I'm not pregnant.
The thing is, there is just something missing on the home page. I don't know what to put in the black hole. I need suggestions. I've tried some photos, but it's a touchy sensitive easy to get offended design. Please offer advice. Be my muse.
Hence why I haven't gotten to the blog in awhile- finals are coming up and I'm beating my head into a peecan shell doing this website. Why I don't throw something easier together- well I may have taught myself to ease up on the perfection, but some things cannot lack perfection. This being one of them.
Maybe the person with the best idea will win some of my amazing chocolate chip cookies. Or a pet penguin. Haven't decided.
I have a mystery to write to you. Last week, because it was my birthday, I decided to buy myself some Ben and Jerry’s Oatmeal Cookie Chunk ice cream. It’s their best kind. Seriously. You should get someone to buy it for you. I bought it Sat. night. (You getting down these details?).
At approximately 12:30a.m. I decided to be sinful because it was technically my birthday and have a couple of bites. So I did as I was meandering about the internet. Now here is where it gets tricky. I specifically remember restraining myself from eating all of it (even though it was so way yummy), and closing the lid. I then thought I put it back in the freezer.
The next day was Sunday. It wasn’t dark and stormy, so that doesn’t help set a mysterious mood for my mystery, but you can pretend like it was. I went to church at 9 a.m. I returned home at 12:20. (Only because the last speaker went over by 15 mins). I did visiting teaching. I laid down to take a nap. I woke up yearning for that sweet escape in its Ben and Jerry’s container. I walked to the freezer.
And it was gone.
Frantically, I searched through the freezer, calling its name so it would come to its momma. No such luck. The fridge, of course, I thought, then desperately guided my sorrowful hands amidst the leftovers and other perishable food. Talk about perishable. I was about to perish, for it was not in their either. My heart sank as I realized I must have thrown it away. Carefully, as obsessed as I was in finding it, I wasn’t too obsessed to take out all the contents of the trash, but I searched through our trash.
Still, nothing.
Cupboards, oven, microwave, under the bed covers, drawers, closet, bathroom, backpack.
Still, nothing.
It was time I profiled possible suspects. I had to confront the roommates. One by one I questioned them in a sunlit room with the light on overhead not making that big of an intimidation statement. They all said no. They said if they did take it they would have told me. Were the lying? I secretly searched through their bedroom trash.
Still, nothing.
Was my purchase so divine that I dreamed it in my head? It couldn’t have been, I remember the smooth texture of cinnamon ice cream gently welcoming itself into my mouth. The softened chunks of oatmeal cookie that I so tenderly chewed so as not to get a brain freeze. Chocolate pieces of heaven being rescued from the spoon by my tongue. No, it had not been a dream. It was as real as alligators in a swamp. And the reality was, it was still gone, and nothing could bring it back.
The truth was before my eyes. But I didn’t want to admit it. My beloved frozen love was cheating on me. It had run away to the neighbors to be with their popsicles. Did I have evidence? No, some things you just have a gut feeling about. I just hope that it’s happy. Wherever it may be. Such a story never was, that of the love between an ice cream and a 98.6 degree human being. Human girl.
The moral of the story; you misplace keys and pairs of socks, and occasionally kitchen sinks, but never a carton of ice cream. And so I hope you never have to experience such pain and misery.
It's 10:30 Saturday night in Rexburg. You have no date, no roommates home, and the labs are closed so you can't work on homework. It's raining. And dark.
Perfect. Sounds like time for cartrails.
These images were taken from my car with me driving. Mind you, I set the camera up on a tripod that wraps around stuff, so it wrapped around the head of the passenger seat. I put in on self time and had the shutter go for 15-20 seconds. Then I'd just push the button and drive around. This was my first attempt, but some were pretty cool. After, when I was showing my FHE sisters, one of them said "Wow. It makes it look like there's fun stuff to do in Rexburg". That, indeed it does.
This is what it looked like when Micheal J. Fox was going Back to the Future. Me, I was just going Back to the Apartment.
I turned the camera towards my back window instead of my front. I wonder if cars that were behind me could see a huge camera being pointed at them and what they thought. In reality, who cares what they thought. They're just sad their faces didn't show up in the picture.
